Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2018 16:00:33 GMT -5
We open to James Pridmore, laying in his Long Beach Apartment, with Margot (his kitten) sitting on his chest. We only really see the back of his heads, his hand that is petting Margot, and his knees. Everything is pretty silent, as he is just chilling, but then suddenly, he says something.
“Shawn Young, I don’t know how to feel about this match, honestly.”
He picks up Margot, as he sits up. The camera swings around to face him, and he sets Margot next to him. She scampers off, as he continues speaking. His face is rather stoic.
“It isn’t that I don’t want a match with a former champion, that’s exactly what I want. I deserve the higher profile matches against the bigger names of this company, but that’s the thing, Shawny. You really aren’t that big of a name in WCG. For a short time, you were that “Young Hit Wonder” you wanted to be, and you had a title, and all that fun stuff, but what happened? It’s like 2018 hit and you disappeared. Yes, you have been active, but where did that guy who held the Long Beach Title for three months go? Where’s that fire?”
He pauses for a moment, as he grabs a water bottle off of his coffee table. He takes a drink and then continues on.
“I’m not trying to be a dick either, I’m being very serious, Shawn. I feel like, if anything, you should be my equal. You should be the guy, that for the first time since i debuted, should push me to my limits. I mean, we’re both young, upstart prodigies.We both have that raw untapped potential. I really thought that you’d be the guy I’d probably gel the best with, but in this very moment, I don’t have that feeling. I don’t see the similarities anymore, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
He shrugs, because he is truly unsure about how to feel about this match. He tucks his legs underneath him, as he sits criss-cross on his couch.
“I don’t know if I’m disappointed that we aren’t on the same level, or relieved that we aren’t identical copies of each other. I’m sure you’re a good guy, and a better wrestler. I mean, you held a title for goodness sakes, but you also hit that slippery slope. It’s like after three months of being a champ, you didn’t know what to do next, and just plateaued. There hasn’t been much fight from you to truly bounce back and re-establish yourself. But who knows, maybe this is what you needed to hear.
Maybe it’s the concept of a guy that wanted to face the same Shawn Young that beat C.J. Lorson and Tasmin Richards in the same night to become the first ever Long Beach Champion. Maybe it’s gonna be that fire, from that burning feeling of being told that you are falling off, that brings you right back up to speed. Maybe, this promo will make you realize, that you need to win this match, just as bad as I do, because if the new guy that’s only been here for a few shows sees it, other people are noticing it too.”
The smirk slowly starts to form, as he hopes that this sorta goades Shawn into actually showing that fire, because he was telling the truth. James really did want the best out of his opponents. He saw Shawn was an opportunity, but with the slump that Young has been having since January, it wouldn’t be the same.
“Shawn, I expect nothing more than the best. It’s what I’ve been taught to expect since I was child. I expect the best from my opponents, and I know that somewhere deep in you, you still have it. I know that the drive to still be that “Young Hit Wonder” is still there, but it isn’t up to me to find it. It’s up to you. It’s up to you to walk into Hype 10, and give me the match that everyone wants to see, because if i beat a guy who lost it, it’s no different than beating someone like Wasabi.
It’s beating a shell, and I don’t want that. I don’t want adequate, I want extraordinary. I want that primo stuff, and i know that you still have that in you. So bring it, Shawn. Show me what you’ve got, and I’ll show you why I am the CEO of Upstart Incorporated. I will bring everything I have to offer, because inversely to what I said earlier, I need to win this just as much as you do. I need this win to be as big as it can be, because I’m on the bring of popping this bubble around me.”
His tone changes. He’s much more amped now, and his voice gets a little louder, as he continues on.
“I’m on the brink of no longer being Billy’s Cousin, Julianna’s Boyfriend, Austen’s frenemy, and/or Nite Stalker’s Victim. I’m on the brink of people looking at me and saying, “Hey look, that’s James Pridmore”, and that’s the one thing I’ve been trying to get since my debut. I’ve been caught in everyone else’s shadows, but after fighting, and putting myself on the map, I’m so close to being my own person. All I need is that one moment. All I need is you, Shawn.
I need a catalyst, just as much as you do, and Hype 10 will be that catalyst. Billy’s in my rearview, Julianna’s moving up, I could possibly be getting my hands on Nite Stalker soon enough. I have everything going my way, and I just need that one last ounce of boost to rocket me to where I should be. I just need that one last step to separate me from everything else, and prove that I am, without a shadow of a doubt, the next big thing to come to West Coast Genesis. I need to win, so I can be myself… finally.”
[/i][/span][/div][/font][/font]He pauses, as to calm himself. He was so close to the moment he had been waiting for, that it made him feel a little emotional. Knowing that he can finally be known for his own presence, and not the actions of others, it excited him.
“So Please, Shawn, for both of our sakes, find that fire again. Find that feeling, so that way, on Saturday, we get exactly what we need out of this match. You get to stabilize yourself again, and I get to move up in the ranks. This is the moment we have been waiting for. Two young upstarts going one-one-one in this match, to further prove that they are more than their current image. Two young upstarts with everything to gain, and everything to lose.”
He takes one last deep breath, and smirks.
“Remember that… and maybe someday soon… we can be a partners in Upstart Inc.”
With that he stands up, and goes to find Margot. The scene fades to black.